Herculodge

Manly Watches That Don't Require Batteries: Citizen Eco-Drive Diver and Invicta Corduba Automatic

 
  
  

The Citizen Eco-Drive Diver watch is a lot easier to use than other Eco-Drive chrono models, which have a longer learning curve. You must really consult the manual to get all the chrono hands working properly. In contrast, the Diver watch is a snap to use and I like its basic brawny look. The bezel is about 48 mm. Over the last 2.5 years, the Diver has kept accurate time. Highly recommended. 

  
  
The automatic Invicta Corduba, which I bought about 2 years ago, has proven reliable and boasts a 60 mm bezel width, but I notice that if you over-wind it (sometimes I wind it when I know I won't be using it so that it keeps running), the time is a bit fast. Also, if you under-use it, the time slows down five or ten minutes, but normally I don't have this problem enough for me to be bothered by it. I don't see the automatic anymore on Amazon and suspect that it has been discontinued. Battery-operated models can still be found on Amazon for less than half the original price, like this $80 model. 

Comparing Solar and Automatic

Solar is less the hassle. Just keep the watch in the sunlight and there's no variation of time. On the other hand, automatic requires regular wear (motion winds it) or winding and variations in movement seem to compromise time accuracy. 

Best Watch Value That Requires No Battery

I don't own this watch, but if I had to buy only one watch, I'd get the Seiko Black Monster diver watch, about $190 on Overstock. It's automatic, which means no battery replacements. Its 45 bezel isn't my usual 50-60 XL size preference, but for the money, it can't be beat. 

 

How to Get the Lowest Price on the Logitech Squeezebox Boom: $229.49

Thanks, Paul:

If you apply coupon codes pm337eymx and mir15 successively at logitech.com, you can buy the Squeezebox Boom direct from Logitech for $229.49 with free shipping. This beats Amazon lowest prices by $15-20. 

Not All Sugar Is Alike: Why Fructose Is Poison

Robert Lustig's lecture is very convincing about the uniquely pernicious properties of fructose. Here is a thumbnail of his argument in article form. Lustig's ideas are also represented in Greg Critser's Fat Land. 

Big Buddy and Little Buddy

 

On the left:  The familiar and some say legendary General Electric P-780 AM radio.  If you are into vintage classics and you don't have one, look for one.  It's an early solid state powerhouse that is engineered to replicate the sound of a warm tube radio.

On the right?  To me, it looks like a little sister to the P-780.  It's the "AIMOR" J-87-17373-A.

From what I can tell, it was sold by the Spiegel Catalog, Chicago.  I'm not sure when it was made/sold, but I would guess early 1960s.  The resemblence to the big GE is unmistakable, right down to the caramel color, chrome grille and carry handle.  One difference is that the GE is a plastic cabinet, while the AIMOR is genuine cowhide (and it's not a leather case----it's actually an integrated leather cabinet).  The little instruction booklet that was still with the radio when I scored it on E-Bay states that this AIMOR radio is "Extra high sensitive, luggage type with leather carrying handle, built in cow-hide cabinet, 10-transistors and 1 diode and de-luxe front panel made of die-cast."  Also, "Special ferrite core antenna, specially designed high sensitive ferrite core antenna self-contained, considerably improves sesnitivity of receiver."  It goes on:  "High efficiency A class push-pull amplification system.  Use of a pair of transistors for A class push-pull output circuit offers powerful output and rich tone."  And there's more: "Perfect printed-circuit board, modern perfect print-circuit system assures freedom from damages and also ensures unifrom quality and performance of receiver."  There's more, but you get the idea.  They were proud of this little radio. 

It takes six "C" batteries and really does put out powerful sound.  In fact, one issue I have with the radio is that when I turn it on, at minimum volume, it's a little too loud.  It's clear----not distorted----and it's fine to listen to from a distance, but if it's right next to me, it's not low enough.  I don't want to bother trying to fix it---I do use it, placed about 10 feet away and it's just fine.  Really, only one local station is super loud like that.  When I do a little DXing, it's not a problem.  It's not the best AM radio I have, but it's well made and very interesting---and it does work well.  I like the fact that the little users manual was still with it----and I got it for a song, along with a Lloyd's shortwave portable that I will review soon----once I have a chance to give it a few days use.  For now, I've been playing the AIMOR more often.  I buy and sell----and haven't decided if I'll let this one go or not.  It's a blast from the past, especially with the connection to the Spiegel Catalog.  Maybe some 1960's game show featured it when they announced Spiegel as a sponsor at the end of the show (I seem to recall "Truth or Consequences," "To Tell the Truth," "The Dating Game," "The Newlywed Game" and other shows like "What's My Line" listing their sponsors at the end and sometimes showing samples of what the sponsor sold.  Spiegel might have featured watches, luggage, radios and such---maybe someday I'll see my little AIMOR on a re-run!   

Angelo    

Logitech Squeezebox Boom Selling for $248.67 on Amazon

The very appealing Logitech Squeezebox Boom, much praised here, is selling on Amazon for the best price I've seen. 

Koyo 1663 SW Radio Bidding on eBay

Very nice example of a mint Koyo SW 1663 radio bidding on eBay for $75. Only 2 hours of bidding to go.

Perhaps the best radio bargain of the day is this Sony CF-320 in excellent condition with no scratchy tuner or volume controls. The bid is currently under $11. Only 4 hours to go.

 

The Truth About Sugar: "The Bitter Truth"

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Dan Explains How to Play His Zune HD MP3 Through His Panasonic RF-888

(Re-post)

Addressing Barry's question on how he might be able to play his iPod through his Panasonic RF-888, Dan writes:

I play my Zune HD MP3 player through my RF-888 all the time. I use a stereo-to-mono adapter from Radio Shack and connect my Zune HD to the MIC input jack on the RF-888. Then, I turn down the RF-888's main volume control all the way and use the MIC MIXING control on the speaker side of the RF-888 to adjust the volume of whatever the Zune HD is playing. Very simple setup, and it works well.

Brandon's Panasonic RF-935

 

After months of searching for the "perfect" portable radio on ebay, one model I had never seen before caught my eye - the Panasonic RF-935.  The seller didn't say much about it except that it was in great cosmetic condition and that it worked great.  The seller had no feedback and in the picture the radio looked a little dirty, so I was hoping maybe I could get this on the cheap side.  I ended up getting it for a bargain - $35 shipped.

I like the overall design of this radio - a bass, treble, and volume knob, signal meter, AFC switch, and a nice-sized tuning knob on the side.  I also like the circular tuning dial.

So today it arrived.  Out of the box, the AM section did not work at all - when I would push the AM button, the FM button would pop out but it would stay on FM.  So I took it apart and it turned out to be an easy fix - the exterior button moved a slider-type switch inside and the plastic piece connecting the two together was broken.  I ended up fixing it with a half of a twistie tie.

Then I spent probably 3 hours cleaning every corner and crevice, including each and every hole in the speaker grill, then shining the whole thing up with Pledge.  When I got done, this thing looked 1000 percent better, almost looks new.  I didn't have a good camera to take a picture so I set it on my scanner and took a scanned image - unfortunately the scanner exaggerates each and every cosmetic flaw, this thing really looks awesome.  Build quality is solid and the interior was surprisingly clean for its age.

Anyways, now for testing.  First, it has a 3.5" speaker which sounds great for its size.  The bass and treble controls work great, I would miss having them.  The signal meter and the light both work. 

As for reception, I was truly amazed.  I've never owned an older Panasonic portable before for comparison, but I've read nothing about good things about their reception and low noise floor - well, this model is no different.  The noise floor, especially on the FM side, is incredibly quiet, and overall FM sensitivity is simply outstanding - it zeros in on really weak signals and I only need the signal meter to go up about a 2 before it is a solid sounding signal.  There are even a few stations about 65 miles away that can be kinda tricky to get on other portable radios - they peg the signal meter to a 10+ on this radio.  Selectivity is also really good as well - I'm able to tune in a few distant stations which are adjacent to local stations with minimal interference.  I dare say that the overall reception quality rivals that of my Sony car stereo.  And I love the tuning dial as well - its moves as smooth as silk in both directions and is really easy to zero-in on the sweet spo

 t.

On the AM side, it seems to be a solid performer as well, though I need to do a little more daytime testing with all my computer and TV stuff turned off to fully form an opinion.  In conjunction with my Terk passive AM antenna, it works great, and like on FM, the noise floor seems pretty quiet.  The bandwidth seems about right - wide enough to produce a nice bright sound but narrow enough to reject adjacent interference pretty well.  I fed the sound into my computer and analyzed it - seems solid up to 5khz then slowly falls off to a cutoff of about 8khz - almost identical to my old Kaito KA2100  in wide mode (which sadly broke after 2 years of use).

Angelo's Allied 2682 Multi-Band Radio

 

New delivery:  The Allied Model 2682 shortwave and multi-band radio.  This same radio was sold under at least two different brand names----Allied and the more frequently seen Aircastle version.  I believe I might have also seen it branded as a Realistic or Lafayette but I'm not positive about that.  

I first saw one of these (the Aircastle version) on E-Bay a few years ago.  I was in the market for a vertical format, small footprint vintage shortwave, but I didn't win the auction.  Over the years, I've seen at least a dozen more (probably closer to 20), usually Aircastle but sometimes Allied.  The radios were either "Buy It Now" at an inflated price, or non-working/untested---and a few times, I simply lost the auction.  I liked the style of the radio enough to be interested, but refused to pay a lot of money for an unfamiliar brand.  Finally, last weekend, I snagged one at a very good price. 

The radio is larger than it appears in the photo and it's heavy.  The high quality chrome cleaned up beautifully, as did the black vinyl/leatherette case.  I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised by its performance----as I'm listening to Toronto's AM 740 oldies station as I write this----early evening, loud and clear.  That station is sort of a litmus test for my newly acquired radios.  Sometimes it doesn't come in at all.  Other times, faint and wobbly.  With this Allied radio, it's pretty strong----very listenable.  This is a good quality radio chassis.  It was made in Japan.  It appears that all bands are working and I'm eager to try out the shortwave later tonight.  It has a nice, long power cord, still flexible and in great condition, even though I place this radio at about 35 or more years old.  I've noticed that on some older Panasonics I've owned, the power cord gets very stiff and brittle.  Overall, the Allied materials are very good, bordering on excellent quality. 

I'm sort of happy I ended up with the Allied version.  Aircastle was a great old radio manufacturer, but by the time this model was introduced, I'm sure the name was just licensed for imports----probably had very little relationship to the original Aircastle.  Meantime, I understand Allied was a competitor to Radio Shack and they imported this as a house brand offering.  I'm almost certain I've seen this same style band selector on old Radio Shack models too.  Maybe they offered a clone of this radio??? 

One reason I love collecting vintage radios is that it's an inexpensive way to posess some "active" history.  It's fun to think about how this radio traveled throughout the years----and who the original purchaser was.  I'm wondering if a Dad and his kid walked into an Allied store and got this as a birthday or Christmas gift.  Maybe someone wanted it for their Summer cottage----an area with good shortwave reception, during a time when shortwave listening was hot.  They'd sit on their screened in porch late at night listening to the world.  And where has it been for the last 35 years?   I think it will be with me for a good long while.

 

Angelo